Research Interest

I’m a doctoral candidate with a background in Environmental Engineering specializing in computational hydrology, with a strong emphasis on the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. My expertise is in simulating and quantifying the impacts of climate change on surface water resources. Besides, I am deeply interested in the development and enhancement of hydrological modeling tools, combining conceptual and statistical methods to tackle complex questions. My work primarily focuses on catchment hydrology of high-mountainous areas, particularly in Central Asia, North America and Germany. Confronting data scarcity and integrating a variety of meteorological remote sensing datasets are crucial elements of my work, aiding efforts to forecast and understand hydrological changes in the context of climate change. 

Main interests:

• (Conceptual) Hydrological modelling & model development
• Programming & data analysis using statistical methods in the field of hydrology
• Climate impact, attribution & detection
• Mountain hydrology

Education

• 2018 | M.Sc. Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich | Master’s Thesis: Analysis of extreme droughts in East Brazil based on satellite altimetry and other remote sensing techniques | Study Project: Flood Modelling of the Upper Main with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) – Is SWAT applicable for Flood Modelling?   
• 2015 | B.Sc. Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Munich | Bachelor Thesis: Potential Impact of Transport Related Measures for Emission Reduction - Case Studies of Low emission Zones and Congestion Charge  

Experience

• 2018 – 07/2019 | Research Associate at the Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management, TU Munich | Projects: ProMos, ProNaHo
• Since 2019 | Freelancer at team red Deutschland GmbH
• Since 07/2019 | PhD Student at the Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management, TU Munich | Project: ÖkoFlussPlan

Publications

Journal Publications

• Merk, F., Schaffhauser, T., Anwar, F., Tuo, Y., Cohard, J.-M., and Disse, M.: The Significance of the Leaf-Area-Index on the Evapotranspiration Estimation in SWAT-T for Characteristic Land Cover Types of Western Africa, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss. [preprint], doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-131, in review, 2024.
• Schaffhauser, T., Hofmeister, F., Chiogna, G., Merk, F., Tuo, Y., Machnitzke, J., Alcamo, L., Huang, J., and Disse, M.: Merits and Limits of SWAT-GL: Application in Contrasting Glaciated Catchments, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss. [preprint], doi.org/10.5194/hess-2024-89, in review, 2024.
• Schaffhauser, Timo, Ye Tuo, Florentin Hofmeister, Gabriele Chiogna, Jingshui Huang, Fabian Merk and Markus Disse. 2024. “ SWAT-GL: A New Glacier Routine For the Hydrological Model SWAT.” JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association 00 (0): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.13199.
• Khanal, P., Hoek Van Dijke, A., Schaffhauser, T., Li, W., Paulus, S. J., Zhan, C., & Orth, R. (2023). Relevance of near-surface soil moisture vs. terrestrial water storage for global vegetation functioning. Copernicus GmbH. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1533-2024   
• Schaffhauser, T., Garijo, D., Osorio, M., Bittner, D., Pierce, S., Vargas, H., Disse, M., & Gil, Y. (2023).
  A framework for the broad dissemination of hydrological models for non-expert users. In Environmental Modelling & Software (Vol. 164, p. 105695).
  Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2023.105695
• Schaffhauser, T., Lange, S., Tuo, Y., & Disse, M. (2023). Shifted discharge and drier soils: Hydrological projections for a Central Asian catchment. In Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (Vol. 46, p. 101338). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101338
• Pertiwi, A.P.; Roth, A.; Schaffhauser, T.; Bhola, P.K.; Reuß, F.; Stettner, S.; Kuenzer, C.; Disse, M. Monitoring the Spring Flood in Lena Delta with Hydrodynamic Modeling Based on SAR Satellite Products. Remote Sens. 2021, 13, 4695. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13224695

• Dežerický, D., Šinka, K., Pipíšková, P., Dumbrovský, M., Schaffhauser, T., & Muchová, Z. (2023). An approach to classify areas for appropriate rainfall-runoff risk management: A case study in Drevenica basin, Slovakia. Ecological Engineering, 196, 107083. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECOLENG.2023.107083 

Conference Publications

• Schaffhauser, T., Lange, S., Tuo, Y., and Disse, M.: Change in Climate Impact Assessment from CMIP5 to CMIP6 in a High-Mountaineous Catchment of Central Asia, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-12551, doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-12551, 2022.